Deal appears done. Ridiculous contract. But that continues to be the theme.

The nonesense needs to stop, MLB needs a hard cap in the next CBA. Lock out the players for 2-3 seasons if that's what it takes to get this done.

Why? Teams are making more money than ever before. Are there any teams in financial trouble because of big contracts? MLB has had more labor peace than any other sport in the last couple decades. I hope that continues.

The nonesense needs to stop, MLB needs a hard cap in the next CBA. Lock out the players for 2-3 seasons if that's what it takes to get this done.

Why? From almost any angle; competitiveness, finances, attendance, etc... Baseball is in the best shape it has ever been in.

The only point a hard cap serves, anyways, is to funnel money into the pockets of owners and other execs instead of the players who fans like you and me are actually going to games or tuning in to watch.

Why? Teams are making more money than ever before. Are there any teams in financial trouble because of big contracts? MLB has had more labor peace than any other sport in the last couple decades. I hope that continues.

Because people cling to this absurd notion that if player salaries are gutted, so will ticket prices, as if the owners are just going to benevolently sacrifice millions of dollars of profits they'd stand to make.

Because people have this ridiculous notion that if player salaries are gutted, so will ticket prices, as if the owners are just going to benevolently sacrifice millions of dollars of profits they'd stand to make.

Not that MLB books will ever be open, but I'd be curious as to what % of revenue now comes from ticket sales. I'd guess it's not all that high.

Why? From almost any angle; competitiveness, finances, attendance, etc... Baseball is in the best shape it has ever been in.

The only point a hard cap serves, anyways, is to funnel money into the pockets of owners and other execs instead of the players who fans like you and me are actually going to games or tuning in to watch.

Because this bubble will burst eventually.

Attendance is actually on a decline and will continue to decline with the rising ticket prices in order to pay for these outragous contract. Not all teams/markets have the TV Contracts to supplement this problem.

Because people cling to this absurd notion that if player salaries are gutted, so will ticket prices, as if the owners are just going to benevolently sacrifice millions of dollars of profits they'd stand to make.

I think it's more of a certain sense of fairness in the system. In the NFL, every team works under the same rules and cap no matter how wealthy the owner/franchise is. I'm not sure if a hard cap in MLB works because of all the other facets of the business including the lack of international draft.

That being said, I think well run teams will continue to do well and poorly run teams will continue to be bad no matter the system you have. I just think without a salary cap, you have a higher likelihood of making the playoffs....not necessarily winning a championship.

Attendance is actually on a decline and will continue to decline with the rising ticket prices in order to pay for these outragous contract. Not all teams/markets have the TV Contracts to supplement this problem.

Exanple the Sox.

It is?

Also, again again again again again again again, the key factor here isn't number of butts in seats, it's amount of cash those butts paid to be in those seats. Sure, if you're looking at a straight attendance chart, if in Year A we averaged 35,000 fans per game, and the next year, Year B, we averaged only 25,000, that would be a disaster, but not if ticket prices went from $10 in Year A to $20 in Year B. Even with a 28% drop in attendance, you're still looking at a 43% increase in revenue.

The bottom line is players get these deals because the owners can afford them. These guys are enormously successful businessmen, they know what they're doing, what they can afford, etc. Don't buy into their "golly gee whiz, I had no idea what I wuz doin!" play dumb routine.